Author Topic: Finding a town's native: newcomer ratio.  (Read 2520 times)

startingsmall

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Finding a town's native: newcomer ratio.
« on: June 10, 2017, 06:15:11 PM »
Perhaps a bizarre question, but can't hurt to ask...

Does anyone know of any websites that provide info on what percentage of a town is native or newcomers? My husband & I currently live in his hometown and one (of many) things that I dislike is that almost everyone who lives here grew up here. It makes it really difficult for me, as someone who hasn't known all of these people since childhood, to feel "at home" here because I'm regarded as an outsider. We're considering relocation in the next few years and looking to find the sweet spot between a community with roots that run 10 miles deep and a community where no one has any roots at all.

I'm not sure that such statistics exist, but maybe they do?

Morning Glory

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Re: Finding a town's native: newcomer ratio.
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2017, 06:29:35 PM »
Hmm... You can sometimes tell by what sorts of businesses are in the town. For example if there is a university there will be lots of newcomers, but not too many. A company town for one large employer will perhaps have too many newcomers, same for popular retirement destinations and areas with recent population booms. Locals in tourism areas can be quite cliquish. The census can tell you whether there is growth or not.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Finding a town's native: newcomer ratio.
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2017, 06:53:26 PM »
Posting to follow. I don't know, but I sure am curious! =)

Lepetitange3

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Re: Finding a town's native: newcomer ratio.
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2017, 07:02:07 PM »
I actually live in a town like you describe desiring.  All the people here know each other once you get here and have been around a while, but there's still an in flux of new people constantly so no ones left out.  As in, if I am out and about, odds are I will run into one or more people who know me personally doing routine errands.  I haven't lived here all that long either.   I think it may be a combination of the size and location desirability (beach).  We aren't too big, aren't too small, feels just right. 

BlueHouse

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Re: Finding a town's native: newcomer ratio.
« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2017, 07:17:43 PM »
How do you define native?  Where I live, the arguments go beyond whether you were born here all the way to how many generations have been here. 

And whether people are newcomers or natives changes neighborhood by neighborhood. 

wordnerd

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Re: Finding a town's native: newcomer ratio.
« Reply #5 on: June 10, 2017, 07:37:27 PM »

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Finding a town's native: newcomer ratio.
« Reply #6 on: June 11, 2017, 12:13:16 PM »
On the state-level, but NYT published data here: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/16/upshot/mapping-migration-in-the-united-states-since-1900.html

Awesome find. Was fascinating looking at Oregon's numbers. Didn't realize we were so low for natives relative to other states. Guess the Portland influence is huge there. I bet it's even more dramatic now, the last 5 years have brought lots of people in. (The really low ones were unsurprising- Nevada, AZ, FL).